Fluid seal for rotary fluid valves



June 9 1 J. w. F. HQLL 2,558,087

FLUID SEAL FOR ROTARY FLUID VALVES Original Filed Feb. 28, 1944 mam ay/11111111111111 saw {WWII/[10147] I I INVENTOP 'dAMEs W F Hou.

HARR/s, K/EcH, FosraaM/Anms i: a N M FOR HE FIRM A TTORNE YS Patented June 26, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLUID SEAL FOR ROTARY FLUID VALVES James W. F. Holl, Los Angeles, Calif.

Original application February 28, 1944, Serial No.

524,216. Divided and this application December 3, 1945, Serial No. 632,388

6 Claims. (01. 251-87) My invention relates to the fluid valve art and, more particularly, to means for forming a fluid seal between a cylindrical bore of a pressure fluid passage and a valve plate partially closing one end of said passage, this application being a division of my application entitled Rotary Fluid Valve}? filed February 28, 1944, Serial No. 524,216, which has matured into Patent No. 2,519,574, on August 22, 1950.

The invention has particular utility when used in high pressure four-way valves and, consequently, will be described in connection with such use, but it is to be understood that the fluid seal may also be utilized profitably in various types of low pressure valves, such as, for example, fuel valves, and that features of the invention may be successfully utilized in valves other than fourway valves. The specific embodiments shown and described herein are not, therefore, to be construed as limiting, and I desire to cover all constructions within the spirit of my invention.

Rotary valves of the porting plate type are generally old and well known in the art, having been used for many years, for example, to supply and control a flow of fuel gas to the conventional type of home gas water heater. Such valves are generally provided with a-plurality of gas ports communicating with a rotatable control plate 2 including a tubular seal held in floating relationship against such surfaces.

It is another object of my invention to provide such a sealing means as is generally devide fluid seal particularly adapted for use in a valve of the rotary porting plate type and one which is economical to manufacture, simple to assemble, and in which replacements of parts is greatly expedited and facilitated. Consequently, the specific construction of the preferred embodiment disclosed has a number of design features that contribute materially to the success of my invention, as will become apparent hereinafter.

which is also suitably ported to direct the flow of gas between the gas ports as desired in response to rotation of the plate. Such prior valves have been developed to operate at the relatively low gas pressures normally provided by gas distribution systems, and are wholly unsuited for and incapable of use with high pressure fluid systems, such as, for example, those employed in aircraft hydraulic systems in which fluid operating pressures in excess of 1000 pounds per square inch are common. Obviously, the problem of providing adequate fluid seals for valves used in such high pressure aircraft systems is substantial, and, so far as I am aware, has not heretofore been solved in the art.

It is therefore one object of my invention to provide a rotary valve of the porting plate type which is adapted for operation in relatively high pressure fluid systems.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sealing means adapted to be used in such a rotary valve to provide a positive fluid-tight seal between two relatively moving surfaces. I prefer to accomplish this by providing a tubular sleeve adapted to engage the rotary porting plate and to be held in such engagement by hydraulic or spring pressure, or both, the manner of accomplishing this also being novel.

Still another object of the invention is to' provide a. sealing means adapted to be used in such a rotary valve to provide a positive fluidtight seal between two relatively moving surfaces,

Other objects and advantages will appear from the specification and drawing, which are for the purpose of illustration only, and in which:

Fig. 1 is an end view of a valve device incorporating my improved fluid seals.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, partly broken away to illustrate better the internal construction of the valvedevice- Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the preferred sealing means of the invention.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of an alternative form of sealing means of my invention.

Referring to the drawing, I prefer to show my improved sealing means as applied to use in a valve of the type disclosed in my application, referred to previously. Such a valve comprises a housing I0 preferably, although not necessarily, circular in form, provided at one end with an annular flange II and an axial bore [2, the latter forming a valve chamber in the housing and providing a flat chamber wall I3 which is perpendicula-r to the longitudinal axis of the housing.

Disposed within the axial bore I2 is a rotatable plate member I4 having an actuating rod l5 connected thereto or formed integrally therewith and extending axially from the housing l0, the actuating rod 15 being provided with a hub H which is journalled in a bearing opening l8 centrally formed in a cover plate member l9 which, in turn, is suitably secured, as by machine screws 20, to the annular flange II of the housing I 0.

Annularly formed in the bearing opening [8 is a packing channel 2| in which suitable packing 22 is provided to engage'the hub l1 and from a fluid seal therewith to prevent fluid leakage between the bearing opening and the hub. Provided on the outer end of the actuating rod l5, and rigidly secured thereto, is an operating handle 23 by which the actuating rod and the rotatable plate member [4 may be rotated. Disposed between the cover plate member l9 and the rotatable plate member l4 in the axial bore I2 is a thrust bearing 24, of conventional form, which, together with the bearing opening l3, forms means for rotatably supporting the plate member in the housing.

As best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the housing is provided with a first port 26, a second port 21, a third port 28, and a fourth port 29, the ports being preferably equisdistantly circumferentially spaced and having their axes parallel to the axis of the housing I0. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, more or less of such ports may be provided and they may be differently spaced, without departing from the spirit of my invention. Since the ports 25, 21, 28, and 29 are all identical in construction, only one thereof will be described in detail, and since each of the ports contains an improved sealing means 33, all of which are of identical construction, only one of such sealing means will be described in detail.

The port 21 is provided at its outer end with threads 32 adapted to threadedly receive suitable piping (not shown). the inner end of the port being counterbored to provide a cylindrical bore 33 of enlarged diameter and forming an annular shoulder 34. This construction is best illustrated in Fig. 4, which is also referred to for the specific indicated by the dotted line 43. The annular shroulder 35 is provided with an inner annular groove 4| and an outer annular groove 42 to form an engaging face 43 therebetween which engages the facing plate 31. I have found it desirable to make. the engaging face 43 of relatively small cross-sectional area so as to reduce friction between the engaging face and the facing plate 31, and I have further found that by reducing the area of'engagement of the engaging face 43 more perfect sealing is provided against the facing plate 31, the engaging face tending to wear quickly to form a substantially perfect fluid seal against the facing plate. This action is particularly true when both the shoulder 35 and the facing plate 31 are formed of metal as I intend them to be in the preferred form of the invention. The inner annular groove 4| has a further function in that it permits fluid from the interior of the tubular sleeve 35 to exert a longitudinal pressure outwardly against the inner end of the sleeve to at least partially balance fluid pressure exerted by such fluid on the opposite end of the sleeve, which reduces the tendency of the sleeve to lock against the facing plate 31 in response to hydraulic pressure bearing on the outer end of the sleeve. The external diameter of the inner annular groove 41 may, of course, be varied as desired and must be correlated with the maximum fluid pressure admitted to the sleeve 35 and the cross-sectional area of the outer end of the sleeve. The outer annular groove 42 also has an additional function in increasing the available end area of the shoulder 35 radially outward from the engaging face 43 so that in the event pressure fluid leaks into the annular space between the shoulder and the cylindrical bore 33, this pressure fluid will exert a hydraulic thrust against the inner end of the shoulder and consequently the tubular sleeve 35 so that in the event the pressure thereof builds up to a sufficiently large figure relative to the fluid pressure within the tubular sleeve 35, it will exert an outward thrust on the tubular sleeve tending to force it out of engagement with the facing plate 31 to permit this excess pressure on its exterior to bleed ofi directly into the interior of the tubular sleeve and thus be released from the device.

Disposed on and encircling the tubular sleeve 35 is an annular packing element 45, preferably formed of neoprene or other resilient material. The packing element 45 is provided with an inner convex end face 46, formed to substantially the radius indicated by the dotted line 40, and which engages and mates with the undercut end face 39 of the shoulder 36. The packing element 45 is also provided with a bevelled external face 41 and with an outer vertical end face 48 against which engages a follower washer 49, which in turn is engaged by a compression spring 50, the other end of which engages the annular shoulder 34. When assembled as shown in Fig. 4, the compression spring 50 exerts a longitudinal thrust against the washer 49 and in turn against the sleeve 35 through the packing element 45 and the shoulder 36 to tend to maintain the engaging face 43 in pressure engagement with the facing plate 31 so as to provide a fluid seal therebetween. As has been explained, the external diameter of the tubular sleeve 35 is somewhat less than the diameter of the port 21, and consequently fluid can readily flow therebetween into the cylindrical bore 33 to exert a fluid pressure against the washer 49 as well as against the outer end of the tubular sleeve 35 which, because the area thereof is greater than the area on the inner end of the sleeve 35 to which such fluid pressure is admitted, provided a differential area piston arrangement by which the fluid pressure also tends to exert a thrust leftward, as seen in Fig. 4, against the tubular sleeve 35 to maintain the engaging face 43 in pressure engagement with the facing plate 31. Thus, while the compression spring 50 may not be absolutely essential in some installations and may be dispensed with if desired, I prefer to include it so as to provide a positive mechanical means for holding the engaging face 43 in sealing engagement with the facing plate 31 to insure reengagement in the event that fluid pressure in the outer annular groove 42 forces the tubular sleeve 35 to the right, as seen in Fig. 4, to enable excess pressure in the outer annular groove to bleed back into the interior of the tubular sleeve.

Provided between the end face 39 of the annular shoulder 36 and the bevelled external face 41 of the packing element 45 is a wedge ring 52 of generally triangular shape, having an outer cylindrical surface 53 in sliding engagement with the cylindrical bore 33, an inner bevelled face 54 engaging the bevelled external face 41 of the packing element 45, and having an end face 55 formed on the radius indicated by the dotted line 40 and which mates with the outer portion of the undercut end face 39 of the shoulder 36. The specific form of the wedge ring 52 is an important feature of the invention, as it prevents the packing element 45 and the material thereof from creeping or extruding into the space between the periphery of the annular shoulder 36 and the cylindrical bore 33. The wedge ring 52 is preferably formed of metal, such as,-for example, brass or bronze, although any suitable material may be used.

Due to the fact that the end face 39 of the annular shoulder 36 is undercut on the radius indicated by the dotted line 40 and the end faces 46 and 55 of the packing element 45 and the wedge ring 52, respectively, mate therewith, it forms what is, in effect, a ball and socket joint between the tubular sleeve 35 and the packing element 45 and wedge ring 52, thus permitting slight oscillatory movement therebetween to permit the engaging face 43 of the tubular sleeve 35 to properly align itself in fluid-tight engagement with the facing plate 31. The tubular sleeve 35 may thus be regarded as being retained in floating relationship relative to the facing plate 31 to permit automatic self-alignment therebetween and to compensate for wear therebetween.

As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the rotatable plate member I4 is provided with a first arcuate passage 51 and a second arcuate passage 58, which, as will be noted, are of relatively large cross-sectional area so as to permit a free and uninterrupted flow of fluid therethrough and thus prevent any substantial pressure drop therethrough. Both the plate member l4 and the housing l0 may be centrally cored out to form chambers 59 and 60, respectively, to lighten the weight of the unit, although these chambers, or

either of them, may be omitted if desired, as they have no mechanical function in the valve. Secured to the inner face of the plate member l4, as by suitable screws 6|, is the facing plate 31. The facing plate 31 is provided with apertures 63, 64, 65, and 66, which are, in the embodiment shown, spaced therein similarly to the spacing of the ports 26, 21,28, and 29, the apertures 63 and 64 communicating with the first arcuate passage 51 of the plate member 4, and the apertures 65 and 66 communicating with the second arcuate passage 58 of the plate member.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the construction shown is simple to manufacture and easy to assemble or disassemble. Removal of the machine screws 28 permits the cover plate member IS, the thrust bearing 24, and the rotatable'plate member [4 with the facing plate 31 attached thereto to be withdrawn from the housing I8 as a unit, following which each of the sealing means 30 may be readily removed from the housing [0 through the axial bore I2 of the housing. Consequently, any of the parts of the device may be easily removed for replacement or repair, and upon assembly or reassembly each of the sealing means 30 will automatically align itself properly with the facing plate 31 so that such assembly or reassembly may be carried out by an unskilled operator.

In operation, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, the first port 26 may be connected by suitable tubing (not shown) to a source of fluid under pressure, the second port 21 may similarly be connected to a point of disposal, and

the ports 28 and 29 may be similarly connected to points of usage of the fluid, in which case the port 26 may be termed an inlet port, the port 21 an outlet port, and the ports 28 and 29 may be termed supply ports. Such fluid connections are standard practice in aircraft where a four-way valve is utilized to alternatively direct flow from a source of high pressure fluid to either end of an actuating cylinder having a piston therein, in which when the inlet is in communication with one end of the cylinder the outlet is in communication with the other, and vice versa. Valves for this purpose in aircraft operation are commonly referred to as selector valves, and my valve device described herein may be used in such a manner. When so used, as will be understood, when the parts of my valve device are in the positions illustrated in the drawing, the port 26 communicates through the aperture 63 and the first arcuate passage 51 and the aperture 64 with the port 28, and the port 21 communicates through the aperture 65 and the second arcuate passage 58 and the aperture 66 with the port 29. By rotating the plate member l4 ninety degrees clockwise, as illustrated by the arrow 61 in Fig. 3, fluid communication is opened from the port 26 through the aperture 64 and the first arcuate passage 51 and the aperture 63 with the port 29, and simultaneously fluid communication is provided betwe n the port 21 and the port 28 through the aperlure66 and the second arcuate passage 58 and t e aperture 65. Thus, in the embodiment disclosed, there are two' operating positions of the valve, but it is to benoted that the plate member l4 may be rotated to an intermediate position in which the apertures 63, 64, 65, and 66 are out of alignment with the ports 26, 21, 28, and 29 so that no fluid y flow through the arcuate passages 51 and 56', and this intermediate position may be termed a neutral position.

An alternative form of sealing means 10 is illustrated in Fig. 5, which may be substituted for the sealing means 36 in the preferred embodiment if the valve device is desired to be used to control a flow of fluid at low pressures. It is to be noted that the sealing means 10 is directly interchangeable with the sealing means 30, which is a feature of the invention adapting it to either high or lower pressure use as desired, although it is to be understood that the preferred embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, may also be used to control the flow of fluid at low pressures without change if desired. The sealing means 10 includes a sealing ring 1| similar in purpose to the tubular sleeve 35 of the embodiment previously described, the sealing. ring 1| being provided with an engaging face 12 similar to the engaging face 43 in general purpose and which is adapted to engage the facing plate 31 of the plate member l4. The sealing ring 1| is provided with a peripheral convex face 13 formed on a radius indicated by the dotted line'14, which permits the sealing ring to automatically align itself with the facing plate 31 in assembly or due to wear between these parts.- The sealing ring 1| is provided with an undercut groove 15 in its inner face, which is provided for the same general purpose as the outer annular groove 42 illustrated in Fig. 4. The sealing ring 1| is provided with an outer face 11 to which is suitably secured one end of a Sylphon bellows 18, which may be formed of metal or resilient material, such as, for example, rubber or neoprene, the other end of the bellows being secured to a washer ring 19 preferably formed of neoprene or rubber and which in turn engages the function to the compression spring 50, is pro-' vided in this embodiment, although, if desired, the spring 16 may be omitted in some installations.

Although I have shown and described preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that departure may be made from the specific disclosure without departing from the spirit of my invention, accordingly I do not intend to be limited thereby, but desire to be afforded the full protection of the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. Means for forming a fluid seal between a cylindrical bore of a pressure fluid passage in a housing and a plate member disposed against one end of said housing, said member being movable in a plane normal to the axis of said bore and having an aperture adapted to register with said passage, including: a sealing member adapted to fit loosely into said bore so as to be axially movable and tiltable therein, one end of said sealing member having an inner and an outer annular groove providing an annular engaging face therebetween, said annular face being of larger diameter than said aperture; and means for sliding said sealing member toward said plate member to maintain said annular engaging face in pressure engagement with said plate member.

2. Means for forming a fluid seal between a cylindrical bore of a pressure fluid passage and a plate member partially closing one end of said passage, including: a tubular sleeve adapted to fit loosely into said cylindrical bore so as to be axially movable therein, one end of said sleeve being adapted to engage said plate member; an annular packing element around said sleeve and supported entirely thereby, said element having a peripheral face of less width than that of its internal face and adapted to engage said cylindrical bore to form a fluid seal between said sleeve and said bore; and means for holding said sleeve in pressure engagement with said plate member.

3. Means for forming a fluid seal between a cylindrical bore of a pressure fluid passage and a plate member partially closing one end oi. said passage, including: a tubular'sleeve adapted to fit loosely into said cylindrical bore so as to be axially movable therein, one end of said sleeve being adapted to engage said plate member, the other end of said sleeve being exposed to fluid pressure in said bore tending to hold said sleeve in pressure engagement with said plate member; and an annular packing element of irregular cross-sectional shape around said sleeve and supported entirely thereby, said element having a peripheral face of less width than that of its internal face and adapted to engage said cylindrical bore to form a fluid seal between said sleeve and said bore. I

4. Means for forming a fluid seal between a cylindrical bore of a pressure fluid passage and a plate member partially closing one end of said passage, including: a tubular sleeve adapted to flt loosely into said cylindrical bore so as to be axially movable therein, one end of said sleeve being adapted to engage said plate member, the other end of said sleeve being exposed to fluid pressure in said bore tending to hold said sleeve in pressure engagement with said plate member; an annular packing element of irregular crosssectional shape around said sleeve and supported entirely thereby, said element having a peripheral face of less width than that of its internal face and adapted to engage said cylindrical bore to form a fluid seal between said sleeve and said bore; and spring means for yieldably holding said sleeve in pressure engagement with said plate member.

5. Means for forming a fluid seal between a cylindrical bore of a pressure fluid passage and a plate member partially closing one end of said passage, including: a tubular sleeve adapted to fit loosely into said cylindrical bore so as to be axially movable therein, said sleeve having an annular shoulder adjacent one end of said sleeve, said one end being adapted to engage said plate member, one side of said shoulder disposed remote from said one end being undercut on a radius; an annular packing element around said sleeve and having a convex end disposed within said undercut portion of said shoulder, said packing element being adapted to also engage said cylindrical here to form a fluid seal between said sleeve and said bore; and means for holding said sleeve in pressure engagement with said plate member.

6. Means for forming a fluid seal between a cylindrical bore of a pressure fluid passage and a plate member partially closing one end of said passage, including: a tubular sleeve adapted to fit loosely into said cylindrical bore so as to be axially movable therein, said sleeve having an annular shoulder adjacent one end of said sleeve, said one end being adapted to engage said plate member, one side of said shoulder being undercut on a radius; an annular packing element around said sleeve and having a convex end adapted to engage said undercut portion of said shoulder, said packing element being adapted to engage said cylindrical bore to form a fluid seal between said sleeve and said bore; an annular, substantially triangular wedge ring, one face of which engages said bore, a second face of which engages said packing element, and a third face of which engages said undercut portion of said shoulder between said shoulder and said packing element; and means for holding said sleeve in pressure engagement with said plate member.

JAMES W. F. HOLL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,027,178 Caskey May 21, 1912 2,030,458 McKellar Feb. 11, 1936 2,317,407 Samiran Apr. 27, 1943 2,365,046 Bottomley Dec. 12, 1944 2,375,633 Downey May 8, 1945 2,392,198 Snyder Jan. 1, 1946 2,419,588 Pasco Apr. 29, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 349,531 taly June 16, 1937 

